Still Fighting On

I met a man on a Sunday afternoon while he was drinking and relaxing at the grounds of Laura's organization. He introduced himself and asked for my name and with impeccable English told me a bit about his story. He is the head of a political organization in the area which works for democracy, self-determination and freedom from the oppressive regime in Burma. This man in from Southern Shan State and has to be in his 50’s or 60’s. He has been in Thailand for 12 years which he enjoys and is grateful to the Thai royalty, as he puts it, for allowing him to be here. I think life here for him is just a bit better than it was for him in Burma.

He was a part of the political movements in the 1960’s before General U Ne Win took control of government. When the military took control, he still worked for political freedom but that was not exactly a safe way of working. He was imprisoned six times in Burma, many times for stints of over 2 years. In prison the conditions are some of the worst in the world and prisoners are often tormented and tortured. He finally decided that he could not take it anymore and fled to Thailand. It was probably a good idea since one of his close friends and political allies in now in prison with a 100 year sentence. Even while living in Thailand, he feels that he can still help his people in Burma, and perhaps to a bigger extent, while living a relatively safe life.

Since he has been in Thailand he has been imprisoned six times as well (since he is here illegally) but he says that all the Thai authorities know him now and since he is an old man, he will no longer be imprisoned. That is nice of them. The first time he was picked up by Thai authorities, they almost sent him back to Burma but he begged them not to and told them it would be better for them just to shoot him there rather than go back to Burma.

His organization works at trying to spread democracy in the country as well as unifying the ethnic minorities in Burma. He is also a member of another major political organization which represents many different minority groups and is working with the major opposition group in Burma headed by Aung San Su Kyi and continually trying to figure out best way to achieve ‘final destination’ of freedom, unification and democracy. He states that it is extremely important to unify the Shan State, with its many ethnic groups and if this occurs, the unification of Burma will be easy. He also says that it is not a good idea to rely on the Burmese (i.e. perhaps the major opposition group to the regime that is headed by Su Kyi) to provide salvation for aunified Burma as the Burmese have not shown that they can be trusted. History has shown that the Burmese have been pretty shitty to ethnic minorities.

The strength of his words, character and determination are inspirational. He is here all alone in Mae Hong Song. His wife divorced him due to his political situation and his sons have their own life in Burma. He has committed himself to the cause and even though it has caused him innumerable hardships, he stays on course. This deserves admiration. I know that I could not do this. He is happy to still be living (luckily a bit better he in Thailand) and working for his people and ideals.

He was also a wealth of information although after numerous questions he asked to be left at peace with his drink. It was after all a Sunday afternoon and time for relaxation. So I thanked him for his time and left this strong, old man in a felt hat with his drink.